Like Taking a Two By Four to the Head
by Anya Urameshi
Summary: Heavily Edited. What do you do when you wake up to find your Duel Spirit isn't so Spirit-like anymore and have become living, breathing, human children? Just go with it, I guess. After all, this isn't the weirdest thing to happen on Duel Academy island...
1. Chapter One

It was a typical morning in the Obelisk Blue dorms. Random students were trying to get ready for class, Jim was trying to keep Shirley from eating anyone(she was not a morning crocodile), and Jesse was hitting his snooze button for the seventh time. A normal enough day.

With a sigh- knowing that he had to get up and get his stuff right then, or he was going to be late for class (again), and that Jaden would never let him live it down if he was (considering how much he had scolded the Slifer on this very same issue) -Jesse rolled over to get up, but something lay in his path. He shook his head and sat up to stare at the lump that was all wrapped up in his blankets (so that was why he had been so cold last night...). He reached out a cautious hand to poke it. The lump twitched and began to unfurl itself.

Jesse let out a very unmanly-ish scream and jumped away, hitting the wall beside his bed as a young girl poked her head out of the mass of covers. She appeared to survey the area with sleepy ruby-red eyes, before letting out a small (and utterly adorable) yawn and crawling the rest of the way out from under them. She sat up, rubbing one eye with her fist, and finally noticed Jesse leaning against the wall (terrified expression still in place). Her eyes lit up and she let out a squeal as she launched herself at him, rubbing her face against his shoulder.

"G'morning, Jesse!" She chirped. The boy stared down at her in horror.

"Um...do I know you?" He asked. The girl sat back suddenly, hurt in her eyes.

"W-what?" Tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffled. "What do you mean, Jesse?"

"U-um!" Jesse frantically began to try and calm the almost-sobbing girl down. "Wh-what I meant was, why are you in my bed? Er...have we met?"

Now, the girl really WAS sobbing. Hysterically.

"Jesse Andersen!" She cried. "How could you forget me, you jerk! After we've been through together!" She then bounded off the bed and attempted to exit the room, running smack into the door and letting out a yelp of pain, before reaching out to rench it open, still crying her red eyes out, and finally leaving.

"What the heck y'think that was about, Ruby?" Jesse asked. His question was met by silence, and he began to glance around, searching for the usually ever-present spirit. "Ruby?" Nothing answered. "Hmm...where's she gotten to I wonder..."

And then, he finally got up and ready for school. He was late (again), and Jaden would have teased him relentlessly, except that he wasn't there to see it.

* * *

No, Jaden was having his own problems that morning.

Like the Obelisk Blue dorms, it was also a typical morning in the Slifer Red dorms (and the Ra Yellow and Girl's Dorms as well, but nobody cares about them at the moment). Random students were trying to get ready, Blaire was hogging the bathroom, and Jaden had forgotten to set his alarm clock again. A normal enough day.

Of course, Jaden was still dead to the world, as none of his roommates had remembered to wake him up (or maybe they had remembered, and just given up when they realized it was a futile process), and was definately going to be late (as usual). The brunette rolled over in his sleep, and off the bed, hitting the floor with a crash. A young boy with messy brown hair moved to peak over the side at him as Jaden sat up with a yawn. Their eyes met and for a few moments, silence reigned. Then, Jaden grinned.

"Oh, hey, Kuriboh," he chirped, reaching out to ruffle the boys brown mop. "You look different. New hairstyle or someting?" He then proceeded to get ready for class, leaving the silent boy to blink in surprise.

"Morning, Jaden," he started to say, just before a loud crash was heard from outside as something ran into their door. A few seconds later, said door burst open, and a little girl entered, sobbing hysterically. She ran over to Jaden and grabbed his arm, clutching it tightly.

"Ruby? What's wrong?" Jaden asked, leaning down to pick the girl up. Off to the side, Kuriboh fumed in silence. Of course Jaden would pick HER up, but not him. Where did that little brat get off? Didn't she have her own-

"Jesse! Jesse's a meanie!" Ruby Carbuncle sobbed into Jaden's shoulder. "He didn't recognize me! He doesn't lo-love me no more!"

"What?" Jaden jerked back to stare at the top of her purple-haired head. "What do you mean he didn't recognize you?" He turned to exchange confused (and slightly hostile on Kuriboh's part) glances with the boy on his bed. "You don't look any different than normal to me. Does she, Kuriboh?"

Kuriboh sweatdropped. "Um, Jaden? In case you didn't notice, you're holding an eight-year-old human girl in your arms."

Jaden brought his eyes back to Ruby, who was now staring up at him with swollen red eyes. "Oh, um, hehe." He walked over to his bed, and sat the girl down beside Kuriboh, who poked her in the side. She squeaked and turned to pinch his arm. Jaden stepped back to survey the situation.

To the left, a boy of roughly ten. Messy brown hair and black eyes. Green shirt and blue jeans. Green tennis shoes and fingerless gloves. Currently trying to pull the girl's hair.

To the right, a girl of maybe eight. Light purple hair in pigtails tied of with red bows and ruby eyes. Light purple dress (a red bow and ruby at the neck), violet long-sleeved shirt, underneath and red stockings. Purple boots with red bows on them. Currently trying to hit the boy's arm.

"Huh," Jaden said, at a loss for words (oh no! the apocolypse approaches!).

And thus, Jaden was late for school (as usual) and was, therefore, not present to see Jesse be late (again), and so losing the opportunity to tease the other boy relentlessly for it.

Like I said, Jaden had his own problems.


	2. Chapter Two

Lorie heard Jaden before she saw him and the two children following his quick foot-steps. So, she had ample time to step calmly to the side and continue walking as the brunette almost tripped himself trying to stop. Managing to correct himself in time, he quickly changed directions in order to catch up to the blond.

"Lorie!" He yelled, finally reaching the older girl. "I need your help!"

Before she could answer, the two children began making their presence known, effectively diverting her attention toward the little girl who was clutching her arm and staring up at her with slightly fearful red eyes, and the boy, who was pouting as he took hold of her uniform skirt. With a soft smile, Lorie knelt down to pull them both into a hug.

"Of course I remember you both," she reassured them quietly. Jaden watched the whole spectacle in amazement. "So, any idea how it happened?" She asked, lifting her gaze to his.

"Nope," he paused. "Hey, wait. How'd you know that's what I needed?"

"I'm just cool like that," Lorie replied with her usual deadpanned expression. "So, is it just them, or should we go check on Tavia and Chazz too?"

Jaden froze, eyes going wide. "Uh-oh."

* * *

The first thing Chazz did when he woke up, was wonder why the heck his bed was sinking. The second thing he did was throw the three twelve-year-olds currently sharing it with him from the room. The third thing he did was yell at Blair for hogging the bathroom. The fourth thing he did, was turn around to survey the situation from a calm and rational standpoint.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THREE BOZOS DOING IN MY ROOM? IN MY BED?"

In true Chazz Princeton fashion.

"But, Boss!" The one in the middle protested in a squeaky voice. "We ALWAYS sleep with you!"

Blond hair. Squinty black eyes. Orange hawain shirt and yellow trunks.

"Yeah, you never cared before!" The one to the left agreed in a deeper voice.

Black hair. Purple eyes. Big nose. Hot pink hawain shirt and black trunks.

"Yeah! Yeah!" The one on the right added in a scratchy and slightly cracked voice.

Green hair. Pink bug eyes with yellow tinge. Red hawain shirt and green trunks.

"Oh. No." Chazz stumbled back, staring at the three in horror. "Oh. God. NO!"

His scream was heard throughout the island.

From her place in the doorway, Blair let out a snort. "Wimp. At least they aren't wearing those retarded speedos anymore."


	3. Chapter Three

"LORIE!"

Letting out a sigh, Lorie stood, moving to stand in front of the children just in time to catch the brunette hurtling toward her.

"Oh my god! Lorie! Where WERE you? I woke up and you were gone! And there was this-" Tavia Sinclair cried, babbling incoherently and gesturing her arms around, making little to know sense(about like normal). Lorie tuned her out, opting instead to focus her attention on the calmer girl who had come to stand quietly beside them holding a bundle of pink cloth in which slept a small baby girl.

"Oh. Great," Lorie muttered, rubbing her forehead as she stepped away from her still hysterical friend.

"Sadie had a baby?" Jaden yelled, staring at the first-year in shock. "Oh man! It's not Hassleberry's is it?"

Sadie frowned. "She's not mine. She's Tavia's," the black-haired girl replied calmly, an almost imperceptible glint in her eyes.

"TAVIA had a baby?" Jaden's face had gained a strange level of horror as he turned to stare nervously at the other girl. "Um...it's not by any chance Axel's is it?"

Tavia burst into tears, Jaden went into a panic, and Lorie began wondering if Atticus still had those "Happy Pills" he'd given her when she broke her leg back in First Year….

"Angel isn't Axel's, Jaden," Sadie reassured the boy with a small smirk, evil glint growing more pronounced. "She's Jesse's."

Jaden's face took on a horrified look as Tavia began to cry harder and Lorie decided that Atticus's pills weren't strong enough before turning to glare at Sadie."That wasn't nice, Say."

"Yeah!" Tavia agreed, rocking her, um, the baby in her arms. "Everyone knows Jay likes Jess! Besides, Jesse wouldn't have sex with me if I begged him!"

Sadie sweatdropped. "Tav, I was just kidding."

"Oh! Right!" Tavia rolled her eyes. "I forget what a bad sense of humor you have, Stalker-Girl."

"So wait," Jaden interrupted, looking back and forth between the two of them with a confused expression. "She's NOT Jesse's?"

"Nah," Sadie replied, moving so that he could get a closer look at the child's light pink hair. "It's Tavi's Petite Angel. Or just Angel for short. Which you would've been able to tell if you'd looked closer. Besides, Tav's not that much of a whore and she wouldn't cheat on Axel no matter how much she protests."

"You should know better than that by now, Say," Tavia sighed. "Jay's too gullible. Which is why he gets attacked by evil pedophiles wanting to play "card games" with him every season." She paused. "And what'aya mean "that much of a whore"?"

"Notice she doesn't deny the dating Axel comment."

"Shut up!"

Letting out a sigh, Lorie began walking, towing the children along with her. "Ignore those two," she told them. "They're idiots." Ruby and Kuriboh both nodded while her two friends looked mildly offended.

"Hey!" Tavia yelled, chasing after her. "That was supposed to be a secret!"

Lorie ignored her in favor of trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

* * *

Meanwhile in another part of this fanfic, Jesse (after going into a furious sneezing fit) was just leaving his first class and still wondering where Ruby had gone to.

"I mean, it's not like there's very many places she could have gone off to." He was saying to Jim as the two of them headed to their next class.

"Don't know, mate. I can't see her." The Australian replied, shrugging apologetically.

"Maybe Jaden knows where she is."

Jim stifled a grin. (Of course he thinks of JADEN first. It's not like there aren't at least four other people on the island who can see Spirits too.)

"Maybe, mate. Why don't'cha go'n ask him?"

Jesse was silent for a moment. He glanced around the hallway. "I don't think he came in today."

"Well, y'll see 'im after classes, right?" Jim asked. Jesse nodded, and the two started off for their next class.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an event almost entirely irrelevent to the story that will probably never be mentioned again, Rose had finally met the man of he dreams. Her "frog prince" if you will...


	4. Chapter Four

Jim was beginning to wonder about Jesse. His little friend wasn't looking so good. He seemed slightly panicky and appeared to be worrying about something while completely dazing off in class (which wasn't so weird in itself) and whenever Jim would try to get his attention, the boy would jump a mile and almost fall out of his chair (which was, admittedly, more than a little amusing).

If Jim didn't know better, he'd have thought Jesse was worrying like this over a girl or some sort, but he was at least ninety-five percent sure that his blue-haired friend was into the other side of the fence (specifically a "certain person" over that way), so that couldn't be it. Right?

Jim jumped as he heard a loud thud. Glancing to the side he watched as Jesse began repeatedly hitting his head onto the desk.

"Hey, mate. You okay?" he whispered, giving the younger duelist a worried look and causing Jesse's attention to snap around as he turned to face Jim with a determined expression.

"This morning, I woke up, and there was a little girl in my bed," he informed the Australian in a loud whisper. "When I asked her who she was, she started crying and ran away! Then, my duel spirit went missing! And, I also think that I may be in love with A GUY WHO HAPPENS TO BE MY BEST FRIEND!" Jesse was now standing, voice rising as he got more and more into his rant. "So, no, Jim! I am NOT OKAY!"

He paused, breathing heavily as he glanced around and realized that everyone in the class was now staring at them, including the teacher.

"I was jus' askin mate," Jim replied with a bewildered expression. "Now, are you finished, or would you like to tell the rest o the class yur life's story as well? Maybe we can get Lor t' make up some flashcards f'r ya."

Letting out a tiny squeak as his face turned a brilliant shade of red, Jesse turned and ran from the room leaving Jim with no choice but to chase after him with a sigh.

* * *

(I. Am. Such. An. IDIOT!) Jesse was yelling in his head as he darted down the halls and out the main entrance. (Why did I- and in front of EVERYONE? My GOD! I am such an-)

"Jesse!" A girl's voice squealed a moment before Jesse found himself being bowled over sideways, hitting the ground with a startled cry and lifting his head to stare at the weight now settling on his stomach.

"Huh?" It was the girl from that morning. The little purple-haired girl with red eyes and a small ruby set into… her...forehead...and...(Oh just great...)

Jesse lay back down with a thump. "Ruby?" He asked, already knowing he was right as guilt washed over him for not recognizing her sooner. (No wonder she was so upset.) The girl, who was indeed his missing duel spirit, let out an excited sound, and threw her arms around his neck.

"YAY! Jesse remembers me!" Ruby yelled. "See, Jaden! Jesse remembers me now!"

"Told'ya he would," Jaden agreed. Jesse looked up to see the brunette leaning over his face, grinning down at him. 'Isn't it sweet, Jess? They're all humans now!"

"Oh, yeah," Jesse groaned. "Just peachy." (This is NOT my day.) He attempted to sit up, but Ruby was too heavy. "Can somebody help me...?"

Lorie moved forward, bending down to lift Ruby off of him with a pained expression while Jaden grabbed his hand and helped him to his feet.

About this time, Jim caught up. He stopped beside Tavia, doubling over to catch his breath, before noticing the baby that the girl held.

He stared at it for a moment, before turning his eyes up to Tavia's. "Please tell me it's not Axel's," he pleaded. Tavia blushed scarlet and an anger tic appeared on her forehead.

"WHY THE HELL DOES EVERYONE KEEP INSTANTLY ASSUMING THAT SHE'S THAT STUPID IDIOTS?"

"Good," Jim cut in, nodding once before turning to smile at Lorie, who was giving him a look of mild panic. "Hey, sheila. Been awhile."

"Ah, that is-" the blonde stammered, crossing her arms across her stomach self-consciously and sliding her gaze off to the side. "Uh…."

Luckily, the Australian was distracted by the presence of Kuriboh and Ruby who had latched themselves onto his legs while trying to get his attention.

"Hey there, you two. I'll assume you're them spirits, Jaden and Jesse are always telling me about?"

The two kids giggled and began babbling up at him while Lorie let out a relieved sigh and rubbed at her tummy with a worried look as she quietly slipped off.

* * *

Meanwhile…..

To say that Chazz was not happy would be like saying that Axel wasn't a people person, that Hassleberry liked dinosaurs, that Tavia was friendly, that Atticus was enthusiastic. It would be the truth, but only a bare essence of it.

Hassleberry was **obsessed **with dinosaurs.

Axel was **anti-social** and constantly locked away in his room.

Tavia was an **overbearing flirt**.

Atticus was just plain **crazy**.

And Chazz was ready to **kill someone**. Preferably, the three boys following closely behind him, but he wasn't choosey. If only he had a bazooka. Then he could take them all out in one shot. But, alas, someone (probably that klepto-bratt Blair) had run off with his beloved bazooka, thus leaving Chazz to only be able to contemplate murder, rather than actually carrying it out.

The three Ojama's didn't even know how lucky they were.

"But, boss!" Ojama Yellow was whining. "Why do we have to go talk to the werewolf?"

"Yeah, she's scary!" Ojama Green added with a whimper.

Chazz growled, and attempted to ignore them. (Find your happy place, Chazz. Death, Destruction, and Jasmine. Wait, what the heck?) He shook his head as an image of Jasmine Makita appeared in his mind's eye. (This is no time to be thinking like that! I have to figure out where Lorie is.)

"Boss!"

"Boss!"

"Boss!"

Chazz clenched his eyes shut and let the image of Jasmine wander through his mind. At least it took THEM off of it. Though, it wasn't enough to drown out their incessant whining.

"Why-"

"Scary-"

"Wolf-"

"Bite-"

"WOULD YOU THREE BOZOS SHUT UP!" Chazz yelled. "I'M TRYING TO THINK ABOUT JASMINE HERE!"

"What about me?"

Chazz whirled around and almost fell over as he saw the redhead standing just behind (well, now in front) of him with a slightly weirded-out look.

"Uh..." Chazz groped around for an excuse and came up with zilch. "Yeah I got nothing."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow. "Whatever," she replied before her gaze found the now human Ojamas. "Aren't you three abit young for Duel Academy?"

"We're not students," Ojama Yellow piped up.

"Yeah! We're Chazz's-" Ojama Black was cut off as Chazz loudly yelled-

"-COUSINS!" He winced as Jasmine turned to stare at him sharply. "They're my, uh, cousins. Yeah. They'll be going in here in a few years, and their...mom...wanted me to show them around so they could get a feel of the place."

"Oh," Jasmine smiled, turning to hold out a hand to the brothers. "I'm Jasmine Makita, it's nice to meet you-"

The Ojama's opened their mouths to introduce themselves, but Chazz cut them off again.

"Joe, Chuck, and Bob," he stated. Jasmine gave him another funny look. "That's their names. Joe's the blond, Chuck's the green-head, and Bob's the one with black hair."

"Oh….kay..." she muttered, but seemed to have accepted his lie for the moment as she shook each of the boys hands in turn, before turning back to Chazz. "Lorie sent me to find you. Said it was important. Why weren't you in class today?"

Chazz pointed to his "cousins" and Jasmine shrugged and left while Chazz breathed a sigh of relief.

"But, Chazz!" Ojama Yellow, oh wait, I mean Joe, complained. "I wanted to be Bob!"

Chazz figured he could make do with a Lorie's baseball bat. He'd just have to make sure not to break it. He'd seen the werewolf snap enough times to know he never wanted to see it again (ever).


	5. Chapter Five

Syrus was worried. That in itself was not such a new occurrence as the fact that he wasn't the only one. Alexis was tapping her fingers on a table in an annoyed manner. Hassleberry was being quiet. Axel was pacing. Heck, even MINDY was worried. Well, as worried as Mindy could get, considering that she was reapplying her make-up in her compact. But, she had smudged her eyeliner twice, so that had to mean something.

"Were could they be?" Alexis growled. "None of them were in class all day. And now, they're missing. We're only going to get to see most them for another MONTH, and they're not even..."

"Oh, I'm sure they're just skipping," Mindy replied breezily.

"I saw Lorie earlier. She told me to go find Chazz," Jasmine said. "Said that something was happening. Maybe that's what they are doing?"

"I sweat to God," Alexis muttered, "if the world is ending again, I'm just gonna take a bazooka and shoot the person who is causing it. Screw card games."

See why Syrus was worried? Jasmine was being logical, Mindy was being uncaring, Alexis was throwing a temper-tantrum, and Hassleberry hadn't said anything through the whole conversation.

And, Axel was...well, he was THERE for one.

"Well, Jim and Jesse were at school until Jesse made a scene second period and left," Syrus added, trying to calm the conversation down. "So, at least we know why he's gone."

"What about Jim?" Jasmine inquired.

'He ran after him. Probably to make sure he didn't try to pull a Tavia and try and jump off a roof again."

"Maybe they're on a secret date!" Mindy concluded, eyes sparkling as she clasped her hands together before frowning. "No, wait, Jesse likes Jaden."

Alexis growled again, and clenched her fist, knuckles turning white. "Jesse wouldn't cut class to go on a date," she informed Mindy in clipped tones. "Besides, Jaden probably hasn't even noticed that-" she stopped and sighed, relaxing her grip. "Even if they were, that doesn't explain everyone else."

"Lorie told me that she had to take care of something, and Chazz is showing his cousins around the school," Jasmine said. "By the way, did you know that Tavia has a baby?"

Axel froze and turned to stare at her with something akin to shock. Or at least, Syrus thought it was shock (sometimes it was hard to tell with him).

'She WHAT?" He and Alexis yelled in tandem while Mindy dropped her make up out of surprise.

"Yeah. Right after I saw Lorie, I ran into Tavia, and she was carrying a little baby girl. She said her name was Angel, and assured me that it wasn't Axel's when I asked her."

Axel frowned.

"Are you sure it was hers though?" Alexis asked. "Maybe it was, was...um..."

"From an orphanage!" Syrus suggested, trying to help. Everyone else turned to stare at him, Alexis nodding happily.

"From an orphanage! Exactly!"

"Lexi, sometimes I worry about you," Mindy sighed while Jasmine silently agreed.

* * *

"I have no idea what is going on," Lorie informed Chazz upon finding the younger student.

"None?" He croaked, staring at her in utter disbelief.

"None."

"But-"

"Duel spirits all over the island are suddenly popping up in human form of varying ages. Why is this?" Lorie shrugged. "Maybe it's something in the water today."

"Weirder things have happened on this island," Chazz agreed with a disgruntled expression while Lorie nodded.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tavia was making an assessment of her own.

"Y'know," she stated, taking Angel from Sadie's arms with a thoughtful look. "Suddenly having a child isn't really the worst thing that's happened to me during my time here. I mean, in the almost three years that I've been going to this school, I've seen someone be turned into a doll, got stuck in a mirror, got my soul sucked out at least three times, found out that I am not the only one who can see ghosts, watched an evil hermaphrodite take over my friend's body, almost got eaten by a vampire, was attacked by no fewer than five wild animals, found out that my best friend's a werewolf, got sucked into another dimension twice, thought I had died, started a lifelong feud with a cookie jar, was almost forced to join the Society of Light, was kidnapped numerous times, had to fight off a bunch of zombies, got my life drained out by a bracelet, was..."

She cut off as she realized that everyone was staring at her with incredulous expressions.

"What?" She asked, taking a step back nervously.

"Y'know, sheila," Jim said incredulously, "when y'group et all t'gether like that, it makes me wonder why yer all still sane..."

"Oh," Tavia shrugged. "Like I said, after awhile, you just start taking it in stride."

"Yeah," Sadie agreed with a small grin. "After awhile all the weirdness just gets old and you start wishing that you'd gone to a normal school where the worst thing you have to worry about is geometry and not being turned into a zombie or getting your soul sucked out by a creepy guy with a God-complex."

Jaden began to laugh loudly, while Jesse suppressed a grin and even Jim had to chuckle at the two girl's comments. Meanwhile, off to the side, Ruby and Kuriboh exchanged glances.

"I think they've forgotten about us," Kuriboh noted.

'Yeah," Ruby agreed. "Wanna run off and cause unbelievable mayhem and mischief?"

"Let's do it!"

And the two snuck off to do just that.


	6. Chapter Six

Olette was deep in conversation with herself when the two children first passed her. In fact, she didn't notice them until the fourth passing, in which she had moved just a fraction to the left during her musings, causing the girl to run into her side before hurrying on with a muttered apology. Letting out a small yelp, Olette turned to watch the purple-haired girl dart over to a brown-haired boy and hand him a bucket full of sand, which he proceeded to dump onto a growing pile of debris, before handing the bucket back so the girl could cycle back to complete the process.

As the girl moved past, Olette darted her hand out to catch her by the back of her dress, lifting her up. The girl began to yell and kicked at Olette, who just moved her leg away.

"What are you two doing?" Olette demanded. (Besides making a horrid mess of the school.)

"Making a mud puddle," she replied with a pout. The little boy ran over and began to hit Olette in the hip.

"Put her down!" He yelled. Olette rolled her eyes and hoisted him up with the other hand. The girl swung her bucket, but missed by almost a foot.

"You're not supposed to make mud puddles in a building," Olette admonished. (Even if it is fun...)

"But, why not?" Both children whined causing Olette to frown in thought.

"You just...aren't, okay?" (Wish you could though.) she sighed inwardly.

"Are we in trouble?" The boy asked.

"Yes," Olette told him. "You are. Now, where are your parents?" (And what the hell were they thinking bringing two small children to an island in the middle of the Pacific?)

The kids exchanged looks. "Ummm..."

"What are their names?" (I wonder what's for lunch...) she mused, mind already half a million miles away until she felt something brush against her side and looked down to see that the girl was trying to hit her with her bucket again. Olette sighed, eyes moving to stare at the sandpile with a sort of longing as she held the girl out a little further.

"You know, you really do need supervision..." she began. "And since we can't find your parents..." (Not that we actually looked….)

She set them down and turned to point at the girl. "You! Go get some water!" She swiveled to point at the boy. "And you! Go find a bunch of rocks!"

The two children exchanged another glance before saluting the older girl and taking off to perform their tasks leaving Olette the job of evening the sand-pile out into a more manageable lump.

Roughly an hour later, they had a good-sized mud bath going in hallway 6-B.

Which was, coincidentally, right outside the classroom that the Council of Sidekicks was taking place in, so naturally the first thing Alexis saw when she stepped out the door, was her brother's best friend's (former?) girlfriend making a mud-pie with two mysterious children.

Olette froze, and the two stared each other down for three seconds before the redhead let out a war cry and leaped out of the bath taking off down the hall and trailing mud and the two children behind her.

"All right then." Alexis said, before calmly stepping over the mess and wandering off in the OPPOSITE direction.

* * *

In another part of the building, the Ojama Trio was busily making it's way through the halls, distributing water-filled buckets to the tops of doors and homemade whoopee cushions to the teacher's chairs.

Ojama Yellow (Joe) carefully balanced on Ojama Green (Bob) 's shoulders while Ojama Black (Chuck) held steady the chair they had "borrowed" from Dr. Crowler's office. They continued this routine until it was put to an abrupt halt by way of the chair being yanked hard, causing the two on it to tumble off.

"Hey!" Yellow shouted indignantly. "Give that back!"

"Yeah! Give it back!" Black echoed.

"What they said!" Green agreed.

The thief paused in step and turned to face the three boys, who immediately felt their trains of thought crash into oblivion upon the sight before them.

She was three years older than them at most. Midnight blue hair cascaded down her back while an ethereal gown of emerald hue clung to her regal frame. Striking black eyes captivated the brothers so that they could look nowhere else.

With a calm, measured air, she turned and walked silently away, dragging the rolling chair with her. It wasn't until they could no longer see her that the Ojamas came back to themselves and realized that the majority of their tricks had all been undone.

And so, in a sobbing mess, they ran to find Chazz.

* * *

Somewhere in the forest, Lorie was trying valiently to not hit Chazz upside the head with a baseball bat while they searched for his three AWOL duel spirits, who had gone missing over an hour before. He kept complaining about everything and it was beginning to make Lorie want to commit felanous crimes even as she tried to shake the nagging feeling that she was forgetting something….

"Hey, Lorie?" Chazz's voice broke into her thoughts, as he turned to give the blond a curious look over his shoulder. "Didn't you have a duel spirit too?"

Lorie froze.

"SHIT!"


	7. Chapter Seven

The first thing Axel did when he finally left the school building, was begin to search for Tavia. That thing the redhead had said about her having a child was starting to bug him, for some reason and it was only the feeling that he needed to confirm this rumor for himself before jumping to any conclusions that kept him from really giving in and going insane.

Though at that precise moment, he couldn't fathom what any of those conclusions might possibly be (or why the whole thought of Tavia having a kid was making him so crazy in the first place).

So, he searched for Tavia, but ended up finding Mana instead.

Or rather, she found him.

"Heya, Aku!" The younger girl yelled, running towards him. When she caught up, she began to skip along at his side, trying to match his pace. "What'cha doin'?"

"None of your business," Axel replied. Mana pouted.

"Geez, ya don't gotta be so mean, Aku!" She wailed. "You're nice to Tavia! Why can't you be nice to me?"

"Cause I don't like you," he explained with a growl. Her previous statement hit him, and he stopped, turning to face her with a glare. "And I'm NOT nice to Tavia either!"

"Uh-huh!" The brown-haired girl disagreed, nodding energetically and causing her ponytail to bob. "Yes you are!" She hit her palm with her fist. "Oh! That means you like her!"

"No I don't!"

"Yeah huh! Cause, you said you weren't nice to ME, cause you don't like ME, BUT, you're nice to TAVIA, so you like HER!" Mana deduced excitedly causing Axel's glare to intensify.

"I DO NOT like Tavia! At ALL!" He declared resolutely. "I HATE her!" (And yet, you kissed her only a few weeks ago, liar.)

Mana gave him a knowing grin, almost as if she could read his thoughts (and he wouldn't put it past the little witch). "Of COURSE you do." She even had the audacity to WINK at him, conspiratorially.

Axel let out a frustrated yell, and ran away.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Axel was rounding a corner in the Obelisk Dorms, cursing Mana's hyperness when he almost slammed into Tavia. Quickly throwing out his arms to catch the brunette, he managed to keep them both from falling over and found himself staring at the now crying bundle in her arms.

'Shit," he muttered, taking a step back. "You really do have a baby..."

Tavia's eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to retort, but paused pursing her lips into a frown before giving him a wicked smile.

"Yep. And it's yours," she stated, thrusting the infant into his arms. "Her name is Angel and everything she needs is in this bag." She set a bag down beside him and took off down the hallway cackling evilly.

"Hey! Wait!" Axel yelled. He started to run after her, but stopped still as he felt the bundle (Angel?) move around. Axel froze and turned his gaze down to the squalling infant. "What the hell do I do with this?"

* * *

Axel sat in his room staring at the thing. The baby, he corrected in his head. Many questions rose to his mind as he watched her (peacefully sleeping thank the gods), beginning with "how the hell did Tavia even get a baby in the first place?" and continuing on through "who the hell names a baby "Angel", anyways?"

But the question in the fore-front of his mind, was "what does this thing eat?"

He'd searched the bag that Tavia had given him over many times, and had yet to produce anything remotely food-like (so much for "everything she needs"). Although, he had found enough diapers to cover the globe, along with some sort of clear cup that he couldn't find the lid to, and a weird rubber thing that he had quickly thrown back into the bag wondering if Tavia got a kick out of making fun of him.

That wasn't a hard question to answer. The evidence spoke for itself; beginning with the first day they met when she dumped a bucket of spagetti on him and ending with her dropping a baby into his arms that very day.

"What do I feed her," Axel muttered, turning his gaze back to the girl, who was sleeping soundly in the makeshift cot he had assembled. "She can't eat normal food...no teeth...maybe milk? I'm sure I have some somewhere..."

He heard a knock on the door, and almost considered just ignoring it. But, there was really only two people who ever came to visit him in his room, and one of them was hiding from him.

"Hey, Sean," he greeted, opening the door. It was indeed the young Irish native on the other side who grinned at him, before entering.

"Hawaryae, Aycel?" Sean replied, moving toward the couch, he stopped as he spotted Angel curled up in her basket. "Seence wenir ye ah daddy?"

"It's Tavia's," Axel stated tersely, checking to make sure that she was still asleep.

"Ouh," Sean seemed at a loss for words, which was about as rare for him as it was for Tavia. "Aye didn' realise ye t'wou wirr..."

Axel glared at his friend. "Are you not hearing anything, I'm saying? I said 'it's not mine' as in ' not at all'."

"Ah, aye see, me friend." Sean leaned over the basket to coo at the infant. "Haw d'ye suppouse ay'r louvely dancier came t'be aye mum?" He glanced over at Axel, and chuckled at the stormy expression on his face. "Doun' wourry, Aycel. Ay'm sure she's jus babesitting four ah mate o'ers."

"On the middle of an island? Nobody actually lives on the island except Dorothy, the Chancellor, and that weird Tarzan-wannabe."

"Well, thiryegou," Sean said. "Mahybe she's oune ouf thiurs."

* * *

Axel let out a yell as he fell off the couch. Sean had left almost an hour ago, and he had decided to use the peaceful lull to take a nap, while he could. Unfortunately, just as he had gotten into a good sleep, the baby had decided it was a good time to about give him a heart attack.

He rolled over and stood, coming to stand beside the basket. "I'm up. I'm up," he grumbled, reaching in tentatively to pull out the squalling girl. "What's wrong?" He tilted her around, looking for signs of injury, even pulling he in to take a quick sniff. Nothing, to his relief.

He attempted to rock her, praying that he wasn't doing something to cause the child permanent brain damage. Angel's cries died slightly, though they were still forceful.

"Crap, you're hungry, aren't you," Axel assessed, glancing down at the scattered contents of the baby bag. "Sorry, kid, Tavia didn't give me anything." He turned back to the crying girl. "Maybe Lorie has something..."

And, with Angel tucked carefully into his arms, he wandered off to find the werewolf.

* * *

He didn't find Lorie. But, he did find Mana again.

"Are you stalking me?" He suspiciously asked the brunette, who just smiled widely at him, while completely ignoring his question in favor of one of her own.

"So," Mana said, "I'm right? You DO like her?"

Axel paused in his step to stare incredulously at the reborn-magician. "You're STILL on about that?"

"You LIKE her," Mana repeated, wide smile threatening to break her face. "Otherwise, you wouldn't put up with her as much as you do."

"I don't "put up with her"," Axel denied. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really? Cause I've noticed that you let Tavia get away with a heckuva lot more than anyone else, even Jaden and Sean!" She reached out to poke him, but he moved away. "See? You won't even let me POKE you, but you let TAVIA hug you all the time!"

"That's because she sneaks up on me."

"You'd think your "warrior's instinct" would be more than a match for a 108 pound girl who can't be sneaky to save her life." Mana crossed her arms, and leveled him with the closest she could get to a glare.

Axel turned away, refusing to reply. Mana rolled her eyes, but pressed on.

"And the clincher?" She exclaimed. Axel turned to her, eyes wide.

"Shh!" He growled quietly. "Not so loud!"

Mana's face deadpanned, but continued her train of thought. "You're still taking care of that baby," she accused in a whisper.

Axel pulled the infant a little closer in a protective gesture. "What was I supposed to do? Leave her in a desk and hope somebody found her?"

"No. But you COULD'VE found Lorie or Sadie and let one of THEM watch her."

"But Tavia asked ME to. And besides, I was looking for Lorie when I ran into you!"

"HAH!" Mana yelled, pointing at him accusingly and ignoring his shushes (along with the second half of his statement). "Exactly! TAVIA asked, so YOU do!"

Axel glared at her, but didn't even try to deny it. Instead, he left to try and find Tavia (or Lorie) again.

This time, he was successful. After another hour of listening to Angel cry because Mana had woken her up.

* * *

Tavia had just sat down when Axel came bursting into the room. She started back and stared up at him with wide grey eyes, and had to bite back a laugh at what she saw.

Axel was indefinitely frazzled. His nerves looked shot and his eyes had a dazed glassy look about them. But, she noted, he was being very gentle with Angel, moving slowly so as not to upset the child. She watched as he carefully moved to sit beside her, staring at Angel like he was afraid she would shatter at any given moment.

Without a word, Tavia reached over to take the girl that Axel gratefully passed off to her before sitting back with a relieved sigh. Silence rained for a few minutes before he finally spoke.

"I hate you."

"Fun wasn't it?"

"No."

"Not even for a minute?"

Axel was silent again, and Tavia felt herself grinning.

"You liked it. Come on. Admit it."

"No I didn't."

"So, you're NEVER going to have kids?"

"No."

"Ever?"

He turned to glare at her and she just gave him a serene smile. But, before she could tease him anymore, Jim walked in. He took in the scene with a raised brow, before shrugging it off in light of a more important question.

"Have either of you two seen Lorie? Her and the other two wandered off and I can't seem to find them."

And so, the three of them (and Angel) set of to search for their missing comrades. Axel prayed to every god he knew that he wouldn't run into Mana again.

* * *

(Sometime during the search)

"What kind of a name is "Angel" anyways?" Axel asked, feeling his anger boil up.

"Would you rather I call her "Petite"?" Tavia replied, glaring at him hatefully.

"I think you could've come up with something better than those!"

"Well, fine! When we have kids, you can name them!"

"Fine! I will!"

Tavia and Axel froze, both blushing bright scarlet while Jim almost fell over laughing at the two of them.


	8. Chapter Eight

Jaden wasn't sure how he had gotten himself lost. One moment he'd been with the rest of the group trying to locate the missing Ruby and Kuriboh, the next something had told him to veer off and he'd found himself in the middle of the forest wondering what exactly he was looking for.

And then he saw Lorie. The older girl was leaning against a tree, face pressed into her knees which were drawn up to her chest. It didn't take long for her to notice his presence and she lifted her head to give him a bleary-eyed look.

"Jaden," she noted, smiling slightly. "I lost Chazz, but I did manage to confirm that you and Jesse and Tavia aren't the only one's who's spirits are turning into humans."

"Hey, Lorie," Jaden murmured, eying the blond with a worried expression as he noticed how red and swollen her eyes looked. Almost as if she had been-

"Yes?" Lorie turned to face him fully, her blue eyes staring curiously at him and he realized that she HAD been crying as he came to sit beside her.

"Are you all right?"

"Oh," she smiled, wiping at her cheeks. "I'm fine. Just stress. Everyone seems to think that I should know what the hell is going on and all I can think about is-" she cut herself off. "That's not the point. I found Chazz and talked to him for a bit before he ran off and I went to get Tavia some diapers and bottle and stuff for Angel before SHE ran off and it's like all anyone ever does is run off on me, y'know?"

Jaden stared at her for a moment before tilting his head slightly as something she'd said registered as weird in his mind.

"Why..." he paused, clearing his throat and scratching his cheek absentmindedly. "Why...do you have bottles and diapers...in your dorm room?"

Lorie froze and turned an interesting shade of red.

"Lor?" Jaden asked, watching the blonde with a worried expression.

"I-I'm fine," she assured, smiling wearily. "It's just….you just surprised me is all….the truth is Jay, I….I'm pregnant….."

* * *

"So, where did you guys get the baby stuff anyways?" Axel asked. Tavia pursed her lips in thought.

"Lorie gave it to me," she finally replied after a moment of thought.

"Why do you think Lorie had baby supplies?"

Tavia stopped walking and it took Axel a moment to notice. He turned to stare at the brunette, who had a horrified look on her face. She whirled to face Jim, who jumped back out of fear. "You didn't!"

"What?" Jim yelped, eye widening as he stared at the girl in confusion. Tavia stared at him for a beat, then let out a groan.

"Oh god, you did!" She turned, bringing a hand to her face. "Oh god..." she shook her head and Axel wordlessly took Angel from her. "How could you guys be so-" she let out a frustrated shriek then promptly burst into tears before turning to throw her arms around Axel and begin sobbing into his shoulder (being careful not to crush Angel, of course).

Axel stared down at her helplessly, then raised his eyes to Jim, who was staring blankly off into the distance.

"Go find her, idiot," Tavia sniffled, and Jim left without another word.

* * *

Jesse wasn't sure how exactly he'd been separated from everyone. One minute, they were all there, the next, it was just him and Chazz standing on the beach and wondering how the hell they'd ended up there.

"I think I took a wrong turn," Jesse commented idly. The other boy let out a snort.

"Nah, really?"

Jesse just smiled sheepishly and began to walk across the sand towards the water. "It's really warm around here. So pretty."

"Yeah, I remember. North Academy is really cold isn't it." It wasn't a question and Jesse found himself staring at the black-haired boy in surprise.

"You went to North Academy?" The blue-haired boy stated. "Funny, you'd think I'd remember you."

"Gee thanks," Chazz mumbled sarcastically. "You know what? I don't remember you either, so I guess we're even."

"Yeah I guess."

* * *

Olette barreled out the front doors and made her way down the front walk towards the lighthouse with the two children (duel spirits) in tow. Upon finally reaching her desired destination, the red-haired girl collapsed against the obstruction and let out a heavy sigh.

"Okay, I don't think we were followed," she panted. "We should be safe here, cause the only person who really comes out here on a daily basis is-"

"Olette? What are you doing?" Zane Truesdale asked the girl, who let out a scream and would've jumped off the dock if he hadn't caught her around the waist.

"-Zane," she finished, staring at her boyfriend with that guilty expression he knew all-too-well.

"What did you do," he groaned. She began to twiddle her fingers nervously as she kneeled to sit in front of his wheelchair with a chastized expression.

"Well, you see, I was just sitting in the hallway talking to myself when these two kids started dumping sand and so I decided to help them make a mud bath, except Alexis caught us, so we ran-"

"Wait," Zane ordered, holding up a hand to stop the overflow of words. "Two kids?"

"Yeah," Olette said. "Those two-" she pointed at the spot where the two children no longer stood. "Oh, shit. I lost em."

Zane raised and eyebrow and she frowned, turning so she was facing him and sitting up on her knees a bit so she was closer to his face. "No! Really! They exist! I promise!"

"I believe you," Zane assured her. Olette smiled.

"No you don't, but thanks for not saying so." And she leaned up to peck him on the lips before drawing back to survey the area. "We really should find them..."

"They'll be fine," Zane stated, pulling her up onto his lap and back into a kiss.


	9. Chapter Nine

"We really should go find the others," Jesse stated. Chazz turned his head slightly to glare at the boy sitting in the sand beside him.

"You can go find your boyfriend," he sneered. "I'm staying right here." He leaned back on his hands and raised his eyes to the clouds. "I need a break from the craziness before I go bat-shit insane and kill everyone.

"He's not my boyfriend," Jesse muttered somewhat bitterly, blush descending upon his face. Chazz rolled his eyes.

"That's because your both retards. If you like someone, you should just tell them. Even if they end up rejecting you, at least you tried and can move on."

Jesse stared out at the ocean for another moment, before getting up and leaving, a determined expression on his face.

Chazz lay down in the sand with a sigh, enjoying the peace and quiet.

Until he was jumped by three crying preteens in Hawaiian t-shirts.

* * *

"What?" Jaden yelled, almost falling over. The blond nodded.

"I'd say I'm about a month or two along," she sighed. "And I'm not putting an unborn child through all the shit we have to deal with here on a daily basis. It's unhealthy."

"So you're just gonna leave then!" Jaden asked incredulously. Lorie paused and turned to face him, smiling slightly at his forlorn expression.

"Not for good," she assured. "I can't just do this all at once. I'm not built that way. So, I'll come visit of course. And write. And run up my cellphone bill every time one of you guys has a crisis of faith and needs to call me to talk it out."

Jaden opened his mouth to reply, but found it quickly covered. He turned his head to see Jesse standing behind him giving Lorie an understanding smile.

"Make sure you send us invitations to the wedding," the blue-haired boy teased the older girl as Lorie gave him a two-fingered salute.

"Of course! I'll even let you be a bridesmaid, Jesse-dear," she replied, pushing herself to her feet. "Now, if you two will excuse me, I need to be going, have fun~," she teased, running off before Jesse could throw his duel disk at her. Once she was gone, the boy uncovered Jaden's mouth and turned his friend around to face him.

"How did you know...?" Jaden began, trailing off when he realized that he was maybe five inches away from Jesse's face. He stepped back hurriedly and tried again. "Uh...how did you know what we were talking about?"

"I caught the tail-end of the conversation," the other boy replied, seeming to not notice the small distance that was still between them. "Do you remember when Bastion built that time machine?"

"Uh..." Jaden paused, face reddening slightly as an image of the two kids who had called him "dad" sprang up in his head, "...yeah...sorta..."

"Well, Marlene said that she was born sometime next year, and Jim and Lorie are the only ones who're actually getting anywhere with their romance, so I put two and two together and decided that they must be her parents. Not to mention the fact that she's practically the spitting image of both of them…."

"So that's why she talked so funny!" Jaden exclaimed. Jesse beamed.

"Yeah, she had Jim's accent," he agreed. "Which just proves my theory more."

"But wait," the brunette frowned, crossing his arms. "Jim met Marlene, so he HAS to know that Lorie is..."

"He does," Jesse explained, "but Lorie wasn't around for that and so she didn't, remember? So, he wanted to wait until she told him, rather than freaking her out, see?"

"That makes sense, I guess." The two boys smiled at each other for a beat, before something ocured to Jaden.

"Hey, wait," he started, "how did you know where we were?"

"Oh!" Jesse exclaimed, lifting a hand to gesture excitedly. "Sapphire Pegasus helped me!"

A young man, slightly older than them, stepped out from behind the tree. Long, wavy blue hair hung like a mane down his back and blue eyes surveyed them with a calm sensibility.

"Hello, Jaden," Sapphire Pegasus greeted solemly. Jaden nodded slightly, before turning back to give Jesse an incredulous look.

"According to Sapphire Pegasus, all my Crystal Beasts got turned into humans!" The blunette was practically dancing with excitement. "Isn't that great?"

Jaden just nodded.

* * *

"I fuckin hate gravity," a boy of about seventeen growled, dragging his feet along in complaint. His short white hair fanned out at his ears and was streaked through with black stripes. "And how the hell do humans walk on two legs? I feel like I might fall over at any given moment."

"Oh, shut up, Topaz," the girl walking in front of him hissed. She shook her head and light pink hair swished around his cheeks. "We have to find Ruby before she gets in trouble."

"More trouble then she has probably already found, you mean," a towering man stated from behind the two former-felines. He had no hair, save the white contained in his top-knot hairstyle.

"Why do WE have to look after the bratt," Topaz Tiger complained. "She should be able to get her ownself out of trouble without us having to come save her whiney little ass all the time."

"Oh yes," Amethyst Cat muttered. "Because you'd know all about being WHINEY..."

Amber Mammoth chuckled at the antics of his two friends.

* * *

Ruby stared forlornly at the sky, lonliness washing over her in heavy waves. Ever since she and Kuriboh had gotten into another fight, causing the boy to run off, she'd been sitting up in a tree by herself feeling like she might start crying at any moment.

"I guess he really doesn't like me..." she whispered, rubbing furiously at her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sure thats not true..."

Ruby screamed and almost fell, but something grabbed her arm, steadying her. She stared at the person sitting before her with slightly panicked red eyes.

He was maybe thirteen or so and had long black hair that seemed to sparkle with other colors whenever it moved. Gold eyes watched her closely, making the girl wish that she had fallen, if only to be away from that gaze.

"W-where did you come from?" She stammered.

"The same place as you," the boy stated. Ruby shivered at the falsely sweet tone of his voice. "And we're going to the same place too, dear little Ruby Carbuncle."

Darkness engulfed the two and before Ruby could even scream, she was gone.

* * *

A/N: I got tired of trying to fit the decriptions of everyone's attire into the story, so here's a list:

Sapphire Pegasus: a white suit with blue trim (the jacket has a gold wings painted onto the back) and blue boots. Long, wavy blue hair and blue eyes.

Topaz Tiger: a ripped yellow tank-top, old torn-up jeans, no shoes, a neck-choker with pointy metal studs, and black fingerless gloves. White hair with black streaks that fans out by his ears, yellow eyes.

Amethyst Cat: a golden sari (.) with light purple design, a brooch placed at her neck (it looks like the thing on her chest that she normally has), purple bangle bracelts, heavy purple dangle earrings, and golden slippers. She also has a small amethyst jewel placed between her eyes. Short, light pink hair and purple eyes.

Amber Mammoth: a grey-purple boubou (.) orange asa oke hat, and ivory-colored sandals. White top-knot and orange eyes.

Mysterious Kidnapper(if you don't know, then I'm not telling): black shirt with white-embroidered wings on back, dark blue jeans, and black converse sneakers.

Cobalt Eagle(will appear next chapter): brown loose-sleeved tunic with blue-grey shoulders and blue-grey embroidered wings on the back, blue-grey pants, black boots, and blue-grey handkercheif tied around neck. His hair will be orange, eyes red, and he will have bushy brown eyebrows.

Emerald Tortiose: dark blue -shirt with a long-sleeved light blue one underneath, light brown pants, light blue boots, green jeweled collar around neck, and a green jeweled bracelet around each wrist and ankles. He will have green eyes, but no hair except for a green goatee.

Ruby Carbuncle (because I love her so): light purple dress (red bow and ruby brooch at her neck) with a darker-purple long-sleeved shirt underneath and red bow on the back (where her tail used to be), red stockings, purple boots with red bows on them. Light purple hair held in pigtails with red bows, ruby-red eyes. Small red jewel set inbetween her eyes.


End file.
